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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · dip · fork · capital · key · mate · row · saw

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. key — in music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. capital — a city
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mate — a partner
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — money
  22. dip — to sink
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com